Several months ago, a guided meditation app was recommended to me because I’m an anxious person who overthinks everything from her breakfast to her socks. I needed something to help me relax (something I’ve never been good at), so I gave it a shot. The ten-minute meditation guides you through breathing techniques and instructs you on how to release all of the tension in your body. Turns out I was holding most of mine in my shoulders and my face. It’s a weird sensation when you become aware of what you’re holding in. One minute you’re blissfully unaware and the next your body feels so tight it might crack. However, when you release that tension, it’s like taking off a heavy backpack you’ve been carrying for too long. What a relief.

In life, I think it’s easy to ignore all of the junk we’re carrying around on a daily basis, especially on the inside. From worry to expectation to self-doubt and more, the day-to-day dealings of life can be exhausting. Things can get even more difficult when there’s a general unspoken expectation for us to have our crap together at all times. Let that build up enough for an extended period of time and your knees are at risk of buckling under it all. It’s at this point I think it’s important for us to find something that helps us release some of the pressure, even if that means falling apart.

Yes, I’m telling you it’s okay to fall apart. You don’t have to be strong all the time just to save face. That just puts you in the position to be controlled by your burden. Nobody wants that. So, if you need to scream or cry or even run five miles to let it go, then, by all means, let it go. Stop carrying so much that you can’t move forward. If you can’t allow yourself to move forward then your circumstances will never change. Letting go doesn’t mean everything will go away, but it will guarantee you some room to move and to breathe. Use that time to pause and reflect and allow yourself to rest at ease. You don’t even need the guided meditation to set yourself free.